KidLit + KidTunes + Trout Fishing in America = A Memorable Combo
Chicken Joe Forgets Something Important is Trout Fishing in America’s second book/DVD combo for The Secret Mountain featuring Chicken Joe, a cat who sleeps in a henhouse. Trout Fishing in America (“Music for people who take their fun seriously) is Ezra Idlet and Keith Grimwood, “a nationally touring acoustic/folk rock duo whose music has garnered four Grammy nominations and legions of devoted fans,” hailing from Arkansas.
Imagine being rudely woken up by rock ‘n roll roosters, realizing you’re forgetting something very important. As you encounter your farmyard pals, they seem involved in silly things and are talking nonsense. Looking for breakfast, you find there’s no food. What else can you do but take a nap? (Well…that’s what I’d do.) This is how the day begins when Chicken Joe Forgets Something Important.
In an amusing storybook, Chicken Joe’s predicament seems nearly unsolvable, and cats do need sixteen or seventeen hours of sleep every day. After an hour’s nap, Chicken Joe awakens again to music and finds that he may have forgotten something important, but his friends haven’t.
The CD that accompanies Chicken Joe Forgets Something Important starts with the spoken-word story augmented with some fine music, flavored with rock and blue grass. Eleven original songs relating to the story complete the CD. The songs sparkle with wordplay and kicky music—kids will delight in singing along with “For Me to Know and You to Find Out,” a song they’ll probably continue singing without the CD accompaniment.
“16 or 17 Hours of Sleep” is a counting song that expounds on the glories (and necessity) of frequent naps that are frequently long. “Hello, My Chicken Thinks He’s a Dog” offers a new excuse for missing assignments: “My chicken ate my homework, it wasn’t my fault, that psycho chicken thinks he’s a dog.” The blue-grass infused “You’ve Got a Funny Name” may even have the kids clogging—or doing a neat approximation.
Kids can read along with the CD, or take it on car trips where they can listen to an entertaining story that emphasizes friendship (The final song, “Dance with Me,” is a Zydeco-tinged, sweet salute to friendship), and sing-along with Trout Fishing in America’s kicky music—without the driver suffering a saccharine overdose.
Brightly illustrated by Stéphane Jorisch, Chicken Joe Forgets Something Important is fun for groups—whether families or pre-school classes—to share, but one must expect that there will be dancing. Release date: September 6, 2011; visit here for samples and songs.
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